Swiss Glazed Gingerbread Cookies: Basler Leckerli

"Leckerli," which is also spelled "Läckerli" and "Läggerli," is from the German verb "lecken," a close cousin to English "(to) lick." This produced the adjective "lecker," meaning, "delicious," which then produced the noun form "Leckerli," with the "li" ending being a common Swiss German dialect diminutive. "Leckerli" can be translated as, "tidbit," and while the standard German word for "tidbit" is "Leckerbissen," the term "Leckerli" is known in many German-speaking regions beyond Switzerland as a kind of "gingerbread spiced cake or cookie" developed in Basel, which is about 80% German speaking. German regions are famous for gingerbread in many forms, including gingerbread houses, gingerbread men and gingerbread horses or other animals. There are various regional names for gingerbread or specific types of gingerbread in German: Lebkuchen (heavily associated with Nuremberg), Printen (strongly associated with Aachen), Lebzelten (primarily used in Bavaria and Austria) and Pfefferkuchen, although there are likely even others. Leckerli are common during the Christmas holiday season. While almost all of the recipes I've seen for Leckerli are virtually the same, one difference is that some recipes add eggs to the dough, but the recipe I've had and used for many years does not use eggs at all. You can add some freshly grated orange or lemon peel to the glaze if you'd like, but that's not typical, although I've done so on occasion, just to add variety.

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup honey
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup candied lemon peel, diced
1/3 cup candied orange peel, diced
(optional) 2 tablespoons Kirsch or a not too sweet cherry brandy*
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup blanched almonds, chopped

Glaze:

3 tablespoons water
(optional) 1 tablespoon freshly grated orange or lemon peel 
1 1/2 to 2 cups powdered sugar

Heat the honey and sugar in a small sauce pan over low to medium heat and stir until the sugar melts, then remove it from the heat and set aside. In a bowl or mixing bowl mix the flour and baking powder together well. Add the rest of the ingredients, including the fairly cooled honey/sugar mixture, and mix into a dough (it will be thick and heavy). Let the dough rest for about 10 minutes; in the meantime, heat the oven to 350 F and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.** Put the dough onto the baking sheet and sprinkle a little flour onto it, and put some flour onto a rolling pin. Roll the dough out in all directions on the baking sheet. You can flour your hands to finalize the dough shape. It's not really a good idea to press the dough up the sides of the baking sheet like a pizza, as these edges will become too hard when it bakes. The dough should not be paper thin or very thick, but rather like the thickness of a doubled layer of dough for a typical pie (remember, it will puff up some during baking). Bake the Leckerli for about 25 to 30 minutes, or until the top is lightly browned.*** While the Leckerli bake, in a small sauce pan heat the water (with lemon or orange peel, if using) over low heat, then stir in the powdered sugar. Turn to VERY low heat and let cook just below a simmer for about 5 or 6 minutes, stirring often to prevent sticking or scorching. Remove the Leckerli from the oven and cut into rectangles, squares or diamond shapes. I spoon the glaze over the top of the Leckerli, but you can also use a brush to give the tops a coating.        

* "Kirschwasser" (literally German for, "cherry water") is a type of clear, unsweetened cherry brandy common in southwestern Germany and over the border in to the German-speaking areas of Switzerland, which comprise about two-thirds of the Swiss lands. The brandy is also called by the shortened form "Kirsch." It is available in many liquor outlets in the U.S., both in imported and domestic brands. Most cherry brandy is not a substitute for Kirsch(wasser), because it is "usually" sweetened; sometimes, heavily so.

** You can use just about any type of baking sheet or even make the Leckerli round by using a round pizza pan. The thing to remember is, you can use a larger baking sheet than you'll need. The dough doesn't have to fit into every part of the sheet. I used a 17 x 11 baking sheet, and while I didn't measure the actual rolled out dough, it was "probably" about 13 x 11, just to give you an idea. Notice I said "probably" and "about," just to be precise. hahahaha

*** Baking time will naturally depend upon the thickness of the dough, so just check the Leckerli after about 15 minutes to see how things are going, then check again about every 3 minutes. The thing is, you don't want to over bake the Leckerli by much, or some parts will become too hard.
   

WORD HISTORY
Hasp-This noun for a "type of hinged fastener for a door or window," and also "a spindle for yarn," has an uncertain origin, with some connecting it to the Indo European source of words having to do with "taking, seizing, grasping, holding," and a hasp (fastener) uses an inserted pin or lock to secure whatever is being locked, and a spindle "takes" yarn or thread. Others have connected it to the Indo European source of words relating to "bend, arch, crimp," as a hasp is "hinged" (bends/swings/moves back and forth) and it has a hoop or ring (bent metal) through which a pin or locking device is inserted. Even an Old Germanic form is unclear, although forms of the word seem to go well back in history in Germanic languages. Old English (Anglo-Saxon) had "hæpse," and meaning, "fastener," and a verb form, "hæpsian," meaning, "to fasten with a hasp," but in later Old English the noun became "hæsp," with the p and s swapped places. This later became "haspe/hespe," before the modern version. The "spindle for yarn" meaning seems to have developed in the 1300s, perhaps from previous Old Norse speakers in northern England, as Old Norse had "hespa," meaning, "door hook, door latch," but also, "a specific amount of wool or yarn taken from a spindle/reel." In modern times, besides English "hasp," other forms in Germanic languages: German "Haspe" (hasp, fastener), German, Low German, Dutch and West Frisian have "Haspel" (spindle, reel, winch),  Icelandic has "hespa" (clasp, fastener; perhaps also, "spindle/reel," but that meaning may now be antiquated), Danish "haspe" (hasp), Norwegian "hespe" (reel of thread), and Swedish "hasp" (hasp).